WASHINGTON, D.C., March 16, 2012 - The American Cable Association concluded its annual Washington, D.C.,
Summit on a high note as hundreds of ACA Members paid office visits to Capitol Hill
and the Federal Communications Commission in a quest to accelerate adoption of
new laws and policies that treat the independent cable community more fairly
and remove anti-consumer regulatory preferences for broadcasters and other
powerful media conglomerates.

"As always, ACA Members were upbeat and
optimistic in making their rounds in the nation's capital to promote the update
of old federal laws and regulations that, once updated, would help trigger more
investment in some of the most economically challenging areas to serve in rural
America," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said. "Retransmission consent
and access to content on fair and reasonable terms topped the list of issues
covered. I am positive that our message resonated with policymakers across the
political spectrum."

ACA tallied 330 registered attendees from
almost 60 ACA Member companies, who combined to complete 148 office visits with
policymakers to spread the word on the need for bipartisan reform of important
communications policies, led by the broken retransmission consent system that
gives all the leverage to broadcasters at the expense of consumers and competition.

"ACA believes that old rules governing new market
realities need to be reviewed, hopefully in Congressional hearings this year.
Broadcasters, for example, are colluding in local markets by jointly
negotiating retrans in order to gain insurmountable bargaining power over ACA
members and extract excessive fees from customers. Instances of collusion among
same-market Big Four stations have jumped 28 percent in just two years," Polka
said.

In addition to face-to-face sessions with
lawmakers and regulators, ACA Members enjoyed many highlights over the course
of the two-day event, including:

A speech by Sen. Mark
Pryor of Arkansas, who urged the federal government to invest in broadband to
link rural America to the global economy. He also touched on his legislation
designed to lighten regulatory burdens on small business by requiring greater accountability
from regulatory bodies;

Welcoming remarks by
ACA Chairwoman Colleen Abdoulah, who pledged ACA's cooperation with efforts to modernize
retransmission consent and find ways to help consumers who are facing sharply
rising sports programming costs. Abdoulah also called for USF reforms that do
not offer broadband support to entities in areas where they face competition
from ACA members;

Announcement of three
additions to the ACA Board, expanding its diversity and leadership experience
within a membership that includes traditional cable companies, phone companies
that have deployed cable service, and competitive video providers that have seized
business opportunities presented by market conditions; and

A lively debate on
retransmission consent policy between cable and broadcast industry experts,
focusing on the lessons learned from negotiations conducted during the final
three months of 2011 and ways to minimize consumer inconvenience when
negotiations reach an impasse.

This year's ACA Summit, held March 13-15 at the Grand Hyatt in
downtown Washington, D.C., was a unique opportunity for the leaders of
companies that serve hometown America with advanced communications services to
exchange public policy ideas with the Obama Administration, Capitol Hill lawmakers
and senior FCC officials.

The ACA Summit
stands as the most important forum nationally for honoring the critical role
performed by independent cable operators that serve remote regions of the
country with world-class voice, video and broadband Internet services.

The theme for this
year's show was "Geared Up For Progress," underscoring ACA's firm
commitment to finding consensus that leads to progress on many critical issues,
especially retransmission consent, broadband deployment and access to content
on fair and reasonable terms. To learn more about ACA Summit 2012, including access
to the event's photo gallery, please visit: ACASummit.org

About the American
Cable Association: Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable
Association is a trade organization representing nearly 850 smaller and
medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for
more than 7.4 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller
suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the
regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA's members work
together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future
competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information,
visit http://www.americancable.org/

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